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The Chicago Reader

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Music, Music Feature May 12, 2020
Video
Naledge brings his rapper’s brain back to academia

Jabari “Naledge” Evans of Kidz in the Hall talks about his doctoral dissertation, incorporating hip-hop into education, the drill scene hacking the industry, and more.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Jabari Evans, Naledge, Jabara “Naledge” Evans, Kidz in the Hall, Michael Aguilar, Double-O, Michael “Double-O” Aguilar, School Was My Hustle, Rawkus Records, Occasion, Duck Down Records, Free Nights & Weekends, Lupe Fiasco, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, UPenn, School of Communication, Center on Media and Human Development, University of Southern California, Little Black Pearl Art & Design Academy, Foundations of Music, Brainiac Project, Think Like a Rapper, Learn Like a Rapper, Ballad of the Bullet, Microsoft Research New England, Social Media Collective, Forrest Stuart, Aymar Jean "AJ" Christian, Aymar Jean Christian, David Stovall, Decoteau Irby, Chris Emdin, TikTok, James Peterson, Michael Eric Dyson, Vic Mensa, Mikkey Halsted, GLC, Rhymefest, Cool Kids, DJ RTC, Andrew Barber, David Drake, Young Chop, Spenzo, Big Homie Doe, King Louie, Joe Freshgoods, Little Brother, Chance the Rapper, Talib Kweli, Nancy Baym, CPS, Chicago Public Schools, Video

Music, Gig Poster of the Week Nov 27, 2019
Pass the mike ’n’ cheese on the gig poster of the week

This week’s featured gig poster was created by Chicago artist Jake Reeder, aka Jake.PSD.
- By Salem Collo-Julin
- Tags: Gig Poster of the Week, gig poster, gig poster of the week, gig posters, Jake Reeder, Jake.PSD, Louis The Child, Friendsgiving, turkey, Cool Kids, Duckwrth, John The Blind, Kami, Ilo Ilo, Aragon Ballroom, pumpkins, Thanksgiving, flags

Music, Music Feature Jul 1, 2019
Slideshow
Sunday’s storms actually improved Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash

It’s grown into Chicago’s biggest rap festival in just its second year, but it needed a nudge from the elements to get its act together.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Lyrical Lemonade, Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash, Douglas Park, Juice Wrld, Gucci Mane, Lil Yachty, Cole Bennett, Megan Thee Stallion, Polo G, Blueface, Aminé, Lil Tecca, IDK, Maxo Kream, Cam’ron, Femdot, Supa Bwe, Cool Kids, Famous Dex, Trippie Redd, City Girls, rap, hip-hop, Soundcloud rap, Slideshow

Music, Gossip Wolf Oct 23, 2018
The Cool Kids hit Temperance to celebrate the tenth birthday of their first EP

Plus: An all-star Chicago crew plays Black Sabbath and Abba at the same Halloween show, and the Cultural Center gives local musicians a showcase in front of industry bigwigs.
- By J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Cool Kids, Bake Sale, Black Mags Pt. II, Black Mags, Halloween Basement Party, Temperance, Temperance Beer, Mystery School, Hideout, Angie Mead, Redgrave, Jeanine O’Toole, Golden Horse Ranch Band, Jim Becker, Mind Over Mirrors, Stephen Howard, Pinebender, Josh Johannpeter, Hujo, Kent Lambert, Roommate, Reid Coker, Abba, Black Sabbath, Claudia Cassidy Theater, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, ChicagoMade 2018 Music A&R Auditions, Taste of Chicago, Kosine, Big Machine Label Group, Avantist, Mother Nature, Rachel Sarah Thomas

Music, Music Feature Mar 8, 2018
Video
Could DJ Taye make Chicago footwork the biggest music in the world?

The Teklife producer integrates rap so perfectly on his new Still Trippin’ that he could bring footwork to new heights.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, DJ Taye, Dante Sanders, footwork, Teklife, hip-hop, rap, Still Trippin’, Hyperdub, Music Frozen Dancing, DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, Planet Mu, Move Out, Break It Down, Double Cup, GhettoTeknitianz, RP Boo, Traxman, Battlegrounds, Wala Cam, DJ Oreo, Mano, Dude ’N Nem, Watch My Feet, BBU, Chi Don’t Dance, Bangs & Works Vol. 1, Just a Taste Vol. One, Live From Your Mama’s House, the Era, In the Wurkz, Heat Squad, Dubby, Off That Loud, Get It Jukin, Cool Kids, Chuck Inglish, Treated Crew, Video

Blogs, Bleader Nov 2, 2017
Video
Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber on ten years of blogging and the evolution of the Chicago hip-hop scene

Fake Shore Drive has grown alongside Chicago rap, becoming an institution in its own right—and it celebrates its tenth anniversary by reuniting Big Tymers for a show at the Portage.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, Fake Shore Drive, Andrew Barber, Fake Shore Dive, Ty Howard, SomeGuyNamedTy, Chance the Rapper, Bump J, Twista, Cool Kids, Chuck Inglish, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, G Herbo, Joey Purp, Vic Mensa, Save Money, Chief Keef, drill, King Louie, Lil Durk, Video

Music, Music Feature Aug 1, 2017
Video
How Blink-182 gave hip-hop a refreshing Enema

The Friday-night Lollapalooza headliners helped connect the mainstream pop-punk of the late 90s to the Soundcloud rap of today.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, Blink-182, Lollapalooza, Lil Peep, Lil Uzi Vert, Ju, Melo Makes Music, Chuck Inglish, Cool Kids, Vic Mensa, pop-punk, rap, hip-hop, Soundcloud rap, Soundcloud rappers, Enema of the State, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Stay Together for the Kids, XO Tour Llif3, XXXtentacion, Dammit, Gustav Åhr, Marilyn Manson, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Disturbed, Migos, Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums Drums Drums, Matt Skiba, Alkaline Trio, Neighborhoods, Yelawolf, Sean Combs, P. Diddy, Bad Boy for Life, Bun B, Late Night Creepin’, Expensive Taste, Paul Wall, Crank That (Soulja Boy), TRV$DJAM, Crazy Town, DJ AM, Adam Goldstein, What’s My Age Again?, Sour Apples, Give the Drummer Some, Lil Wayne, Pharrell, Slaughterhouse, RZA, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Rick Ross, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, Gucci Mane, When Fish Ride Bicycles, Special Edition Grand Master Deluxe, Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Adam’s Song, Mysticphonk, Stains, Video

Blogs, Bleader Feb 2, 2017
Video
Mick Jenkins’s DJ, Green Sllime, takes a break from the turntables to host a talk show

The newish YouTube series Sllime's Broke Ass Low Budget Show caters to Chicago hip-hop fanatics.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, Green Sllime, Sllime's Broke Ass Low Budget Show, 119 Productions, Joseph Chilliams, Sharkula, Dally Auston, Cool Kids, JBTV, ShowYouSuck, Good Luck Hunting, Pivot Gang, Save Money, Video

Music, Record Roundup Jul 1, 2014
Robin Thicke's morbidly fascinating Paula and 15 more record reviews

Eight Reader writers take on 16 albums—including White Lung's witchy two-minute mantras, Monarch's crawling tectonic doom, and Sir Michael Rocks's bleakly sunny party rap.
- By Leor Galil, Peter Margasak, Monica Kendrick, Kevin Warwick, Luca Cimarusti, Bill Meyer, Kim Kelly, and Erin Osmon
- Tags: Record Roundup, Ab-Soul, Top Dawg Entertainment, Herbert Anthony Stevens, Black Hippy crew, MCs, hip-hop, Mike Cooper, Paradise of Bachelors, folk revival, blues, Peter Brötzmann, Grayson Currin, Indy Week, free jazz, improvisers, reissues, records, Flesh Eaters, Superior Viaduct, Slash Records, punk, Chris D., Chris Desjardins, X, John Doe, DJ Bonebrake, The Blasters, Dave Alvin, Bill Bateman, Los Lobos, Steve Berlin, Bryan Jacobs, Carrier, new music, electronics, Ensemble Pamplemousse, piano, flute, Ekmeles, Luluc, Sub Pop, Zoe Randell, Steve Hassett, Aaron Dessner, Monarch, Profound Lore, Emilie Bresson, Morrissey, Harvest records, November's Doom, metal, Paul Kuhr, guitar, People, Telegraph Harp, Mary Halvorson, Kevin Shea, Kyle Forester, Rise Against, Tim McIlrath, Interscope, Vanessa Rossetto, Kye, Pierre Schaeffer, Sir Michael Rocks, Blended Babies Music Group, Cool Kids, Antoine Reed, DJ Mustard, Robin Thicke, Star Trak, Paula Patton, Total Control, Iron Lung, Michael David Young, Dan Stewart, Trap Them, Prosthetic, Ryan McKenney, Brian Izzi, Kurt Ballou, Brad Fickeisen, White Lung, Domino, Mish Way, Kenneth William, Anne-Marie Vassiliou

Music, Music Feature Apr 23, 2013
Video
Chance the Rapper drops Acid Rap

The local MC's second mixtape is about to take him to some places he's only imagined.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Music Feature, hip-hop, Hannibal Buress, release parties, Sulaiman, King Louie, Treated Crew, Chance the Rapper, schools, Taylor Bennett, Closed Sessions, Ruby Hornet, Alex Fruchter, In Rod We Lust, Roosevelt University, Lincoln Park, Rodney Kyles Jr., Blended Babies, Patrick Corcoran, Peter Cottontale, Caleb James, Vic Mensa, Nico Segal, Stefan Ponce, Oak Park River Forest High School, Advocate Illinois Medical Center, ThemPeople, L-Boogie, Chuck Inglish, Lili K., Fake Shore Drive, Red Bull Sound Select, SXSW, South by Southwest, ShowYouSuck, Cool Kids, Chancelor Bennett, Chief Keef, mixtapes, rap, Acid Rap, Andrew Barber, Save Money, Kids These Days, Lincoln Hall, Danny Brown, Childish Gambino, XXL, Pitchfork, videos, Austin Vesely, dance, humor, Chatham neighborhood, Ken Williams-Bennett, Kanye West, Chef Sean, rappers, Jones College Prep, YouMedia, Harold Washington Lirbrary, Young Chicago Authors, Lounder Than a Bomb, open mikes, YCA, Kevin Coval, Video

Blogs, Bleader Mar 15, 2013
Trinidad James and Master P make SXSW say "Uhhh"

Wilding out with "ignorant" rappers new and old
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, Trinidad James, Master P, SXSW, Cool Kids, Chicago

Blogs, Bleader Mar 15, 2013
Chicago rap's big day out at SXSW

Chance the Rapper's ascendance continues at SXSW, and more.
- By Leor Galil
- Tags: Hip-Hop, Music, SXSW, rap, hip-hop, drill, Chance the Rapper, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Cool Kids, ShowYouSuck, Spenzo, Houses, King Louie, Vic Spencer, YP, Chief Keef, SXSWendy's, seapunk

Blogs, Bleader Jul 23, 2012
Video
Closed Sessions opens up Chicago hip-hop

Local studio to release its third compilation
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Boom!, Music, Soundscape, Closed Sessions, Michael Kolar, Ruby Hornet, MTV 2, Sucker Free, hip-hop, L.E.P. Bogus Boys, Hollywood Holt, Million Dollar Mano, YP, Naledge, Sir Michael Rocks, Cool Kids, Raekwon, Ninjasonik, Action Bronson, Cyhi da Prince, Mic Terror, Freddie Gibbs, Mr. Muthafuckin' Exquire, Video

Music, Music Feature May 31, 2012
Audio
Chocolate Industries bridges
Miami to the midwest

An early education in IDM leads to a label that fuses hip-hop, rock, and soul
- By Kevin Warwick
- Tags: Music Feature, Chicago record labels, Chocolate Industries, Marvin "Seven" Bedard, Edgar Farinas, Push Button Objects, Kraftwerk, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Rephlex Records, Isophlux, Schematic, IDM, intelligent dance music, Shad T. Smith, Cool Kids, Lady Sovereign, Diverse, Ghislain Poirier, Electronic Soul, Audio

Blogs, Bleader May 22, 2012
Vyle drops "God Tier"

Local club-night stalwart finally gets serious about releasing his music
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Do This, Music, Vyle, Flosstradamus, Cool Kids, Chief Keef, Chicago, hip-hop, electronic dance music

Blogs, Bleader Jan 3, 2012
Video
The year in music: Wait, this isn't over yet?

New free beats from Chuck Inglish and Flosstradamus
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Free Shit, Swag, Chicago, hip-hop, dance music, Cool Kids, Chuck Inglish, Egyptian Lover, Dr. Dre, Flying Lotus, Flosstradamus, X-Files, Video

Music, Music Feature Aug 4, 2011
Lollapalooza Survival Guide

Twenty nine acts to see—even if you have to fight the crowds
- By Miles Raymer, Peter Margasak, Kevin Warwick, Mara Shalhoup, Leor Galil, Bill Meyer, Jessica Hopper, and Monica Kendrick
- Tags: Music Feature, Lollapalooza, Wye Oak, Cults, My Morning Jacket, Lykke Li, Ceci Bastida, Le Butcherettes, Smith Westerns, Kills, Cults, Mountain Goats, Girl Talk, Ratatat, Disappears, Chico Trujillo, Friendly Fires, Black Lips, Death From Above 1979, Big Audio Dynamite, Deftones, Ween, Cee Lo, Beirut, Titus Andronicus, Lia Ices, Cool Kids, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Flogging Molly, Best Coast, Explosions in the Sky, Modeselektor

Blogs, Bleader Jul 7, 2011
This week on the B Side

Cool Kids, tons of festivals, recent reissues, and much more
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Chicago, Reader, Cool Kids, hip-hop, West Fest, Chicago Folk & Roots Festival, Dave Matthews Band Caravan, Three Beats, Metalion, Sorry Bamba, Mickey Newbury, Gossip Wolf, Nightlife, Canadian Girlfriends, the Archers of Loaf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Yob, Tinariwen, Kid Cudi, Emmylou Harris

Music, Music Column Jul 7, 2011
The Cool Kids make a break for it

Can their first album, long delayed by legal wrangling, galvanize hip-hop the way their early releases did three years ago?
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Music Column, Cool Kids, Mikey Rocks, Antoine Reed, Chuck Inglish, Evan Ingresoll, When Fish Ride Bicycles, Green Label Sound, Chocolate Industries, Seven Bedard, hipster rap, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, Travis Barker, Mountain Dew

Blogs, Bleader May 31, 2011
Fish to Ride Bicycles on July 12

The Cool Kids are finally putting out their first long-player.
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Cool Kids, Chicago, Green Label Sound, hip-hop, the biz, Travis Barker, Asher Roth, Ghostface Killah, Bun B, Pharrell Williams, Mayer Hawthorne

Music, Gossip Wolf Apr 14, 2011
Gossip Wolf: Shred Like the Wind

The national air-guitar championship comes to Chicago. Plus: the Whistler takes over Summer Sessions, the Mad Decent Block Party makes big plans for Chicago, and more
- By Jessica Hopper and J.R. Nelson
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, US Air Guitar, air guitar championship, Bjorn Turque, Birthmark, Nate Kinsella, Jason Cupp, Map & Atlases, Pieholden Studios, Billy Helmkamp, Summer Sessions on the Square, Mad Decent Block Party, Dawn Golden & Rosy Cross, Pulled Over By the Cops, Cool Kids, Black September, Prosthetic Records, Megaton Leviathan, Very Truly Yours, Belle & Sebastian, Pastels, Indietracks, Names Divine, Kendra Calhoun, Peter Cetera, Perilous Records

Music, Gossip Wolf Mar 2, 2011
Gossip Wolf: The Scoop on Pitchfork Headliners

Superchunk, TV on the Radio among possibilities. Plus: Ruby Hornet gets into the record biz, Dawnbringer’s first show in 13 years, and more
- By Jessica Hopper and J.R. Nelson
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Pitchfork, Superchunk, Ruby Hornet, Alex Frutcher, Walter J. Liveharder, Tennille, Cool Kids, Sir Michael Rocks, Hollows, Chips for the Poor, Steve Ignorant, Crass!, TV on the Radio, Odd Future, Dismemberment Plan, Atmosphere, Queensryche, That Dog, Nachtmystium, Superchrist, High Spirits, Dawnbringer, Neon Marshmellow Fest, Netherfriends, Red Electric Rainbow, Diane Izzo, Califone, Marco Zas, Kleenex Girl Wonder, Joe Public

Blogs, Bleader Feb 22, 2011
Soda Brand to Rescue Cool Kids Album From Label Limbo

Mountain Dew's Green Label Sound to put out the Cool Kids' "lost album"
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Cool Kids, When Fish Ride Bicycles, Chicago, hip-hop, Green Label Sound, Mountain Dew, the biz, Chocolate Industries, selling out

Music, Gossip Wolf Sep 23, 2010
Video
Look Who's Making Tracks With Travis

Kid Sister in the studio, plus a Maps & Atlases LP, new dollies by Archer Prewitt, good-bye to Graeme Gibson, and more
- By Jessica Hopper and J.R. Nelson
- Tags: Gossip Wolf, Travis Barker, Kid Sister, Cool Kids, Maps & Atlases, Dave Davison, Del Ray, Archer Prewitt, Press Pop Gallery, Great People, dolls, Bob Moog, Raymond Scott, Allen Ginsberg, Psalm One, MCADaD, Pugz Atomz, Jon Langford, Jim Elkington, Alan Doughty, Joe Camarillo, Andre Williams & the Gold Stars, Sally Timms, Bloodshot, Graeme Gibson, Disappears, Fruit Bats, Box of Baby Birds, Gary Calhoun James, Video

Blogs, Bleader Sep 8, 2010
Video
Freddie Gibbs & Co. Get Some "Oil Money"

The new Gibbs video, plus bonus features
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: Crickets, Music, Freddie Gibbs, Chuck Inglish, Oil Money, Cool Kids, Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Million Dollar Mano, Chicago, hip-hop, video, Video

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